Future is hoping to drum up interest from publishers with FirstPlay's direct access to PS3 owners, which presents unique advertising opportunities.

Through FirstPlay, publishers will be able to target both core consumers and PS3 owners that don't usually engage with traditional games advertising.

We hope that by creating what is essentially a new medium, we'll be able to get people engaging with games media who may not have done so before,” said FirstPlay's publisher Richard Keith.

FirstPlay provides two very direct ways for the trade to communicate with this audience. The first is via content, whether that's editorial in the form of video reviews and features, or downloads such as playable demos, beta trials and DLC.

The second is advertising. There are up to six 30-second HD slots available in each episode. These are unskippable the first time they run, and are an amazingly powerful way to get TV, cinema or viral ads direct to PS3 gamers.”

FirstPlay is the product of several years of collaboration between Sony and Future.

It is a significant advance for Future's online strategy, which to date has focused on websites.

Keith added: We think that the benefits of on-console media are going to be obvious and we have invested a lot of time, effort and resources in developing what we think is a new kind of media – and we're unlikely to want to give up our lead in this area.”